From a Flash of Light
by Kanayuki Kiryu
Summary: Zero Kiryu was only doing his duty as a Hunter when he sees a bright light and is transported to an anime convention in the United States. Things get out of hand as he tries to find a way back home, but can he without getting into trouble...and love? R&R!
1. Prologue

I do not own Vampire Knight. It belongs to the talented and impressive Matsuri Hino. If not for her, I would not have been so interested in a story about vampires.

Prologue

The large room was crowded with many bodies and music, vampires of high social class mingling with one another, listening to the orchestra and waiting for the arrival of the purebloods. Some of the aristocrats decided to take advantage of the music and dance a few rounds with their spouse or family member. While those vampires danced, the others stood around, gossiping, having a drink of the wondrous discovery of the blood tablets. They were biding their time, knowing they were being watched by their enemies; hunters from the Society.

One such hunter looked on the aristocrats, a fire of deep loathing barely masked in his violet eyes. This hunter, Zero Kiryu, had a duty to the Society, but his past helped make him stand out from the others. His hatred for any and all vampires stems from that woman; Shizuka Hio's anger at his parents for something they couldn't control. The result was their deaths and Zero's future tainted with that of a newborn vampire.

It had taken him four long, miserable years to finally become a beast in human form, but it did not come without a cost. His first taste of true human blood came from the one person who knew him best.

This is the same person he has now sworn to kill.

His hunter senses kicked in as he felt the presence of the purebloods. Just as he had, the aristocrats paused in their actions and looked toward where the purebloods would enter the soiree. Zero clenched his hands into fists and felt his teeth gnash together in hope for composure. He cannot forget his duty; he cannot kill them without the order, even if he desperately wanted to.

He saw them. His blood ran cold as he looked at the one man he hated most: Kaname Kuran. Beside him was the one person, Zero knew, that would destroy him when he killed her. That one person was his savior; Yuki Cross-or Kuran, for she is the sister and fiancee to Kaname.

Just as she turned her gaze to him, Zero noticed the room suddenly came to a standstill. The music halted, the vampires stood frozen. Zero looked around and, when he realized something was not right, felt his throat clench and knew it was power beyond his control.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light burst from above, forcing Zero to cover his eyes in protection. All he could see was white, all around him, enveloping him. He tried to stay strong, composed, but he could not help his instinct to cower and close his eyes.

**A.N. **The prologue of my Vampire Knight fanfiction! I feel it's a little blah, but its only the prologue. Chapter one is in the works, and I think a lot of people will either love it or hate it with a burning passion. If you're one of the ones who want to see what happens to Zero, all you must do is leave a review. Just a simple "Good job" would suffice, just to help me get inspired to write more. I may be taking time in writing this one because I will start to use Google Docs to keep it in a safe place, and having to take it from the site to Microsoft Word and save it for a suitable form. Thanks again and I can't wait to write more for you all!


	2. Chapter One

-§-Chapter One-§-

The sound of people chattering all around him forced his eyes to open in confusion. All around him were people dressed in the like; poorly attired in jeans and baggy t-shirts, others in tacky, handmade...he threw a guess out and thought maybe poor imitations of Halloween costumes. He even saw men dressed in long flowing dresses and heels. The place he found himself was a large hall of some sort, but not like the one with the masses of vampires and music where he was just watching the attendees. He knew he was not at the soiree, but where he had been taken didn't look to be even in the same _country _as where he called home.

Several of the people around him avoided slamming into him, while others could not skirt away in time and bashed into him forcefully. As they left, he noticed that they had the air of someone who had not taken proper washing habits into hand, having spent days without a drop of water to the skin. All Zero could do was swallow his wits and continue to find a way around this place. He found he was in the way of a long line of people and pushed his way along to a railing near a set of escalators from a floor below. Curious as he was, he peered over the rail and found he was at least three stories from the ground. It was nothing to him, really, but he had rather hoped to be closer to the ground in any need to escape.

Something was not right. Never in his life had he seen such a phenomenon. One minute, he was watching the aristocrats swaying to the music and was going to see _her _for the first time since he swore to kill her. The next, there was a brilliant flash of light and he finds himself surrounded by oddly-dressed people who neglected the laws of human nature to cleanse after time. Zero guessed they didn't get the memo saying there is such technology as a shower.

The flash of a camera out of the corner of his eye directed his attention away from his thoughts. He turned in the direction of the light and saw a girl about his age looking at a sleek black digital camera, pushing a lock of her dark brown hair behind her ear. Without looking where she was going, she started in his direction, and it was when she was a few feet away from him when she lifted her head, allowing Zero to see her bright brown eyes. A smile had spread across her face, making her eyes twinkle even more.

"Wow. Great cosplay. You remind me of the real deal."

Zero felt his eyebrows come together in confusion. He noticed the girl in front of him hint his confusion and raise her own eyebrows. What was she talking about? What was a cosplay? A strange thought zipped through his mind; _that idiot Ichijo would know that because he was most _definitely _human._

"You're really one of the best Zero cosplayers I've seen in a _long _time."

At this point of time, all Zero could do from getting mad at this stranger was gnash his teeth and put on a smile. "What?"

The girl's face became a blank expression and she stumbled for words. "What do you mean 'what?' You _are _in cosplay, right?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he snapped, barely able to restrain himself any longer. He was officially getting frustrated.

"Oh," she deflated. "Well, I just thought you were dressed up because you look a lot like Zero Kiryu and it _is _a good job-"

"How do you know my name?" His violet eyes flared with flames of anger. How _dare _this girl assume she knew him when he clearly didn't know her!

He immediately felt ashamed at himself as he saw her eyes twinkle with eminent tears. It was also at this time he noticed she wore a red dress that fell to her knees and had thin straps holding it up. This made him uncomfortable; girls where he came from would not wear clothing that scarce in public unless she was from the type of crowd to entertain. He figured she was not into that type of thing and felt horrible for thinking of it.

"I...I'm sorry-"

"No. No, it's my fault. Sorry."

She gave a weak smile and went to go around him when she was pushed back by a line of girls that came flocking up to him. They all had cameras and all seemed to be in what was considered cosplay; they were not normal people-no one had hair that spiky or that shade of pink naturally. One of the girls wore a day class uniform and had short brown hair. At first glance, he thought he was seeing _her _again, but he got a full look at her and saw her nose was larger and she had blue eyes; clearly not _her._

The people made so much noise that Zero could not concentrate on trying to get away. He was not going to leap from three stories up and land on some passer-by. He was also not happy with the way they treated the girl in the red dress. All he could do was look at the girl, apology trying its hardest to seep into his eyes.

When he was not paying close attention to his surroundings, he almost missed it as a mass of white moved past him and the mob. Zero looked up and saw a cosplay of Kaname Kuran pass him. The cosplayer looked back at Zero and gave a smile of humor, then took off with a girl dressed in cosplay as well, but not at all like the stature of _her._

Without his mind taking a moment to look at the situation, Zero felt the urge to show that Kuran was nothing more than a beast in human form and prove to _her _that nothing good comes with marrying a vampire like the King of Kurans. He pulled out his Bloody Rose gun and instantly the mob of people squealed in excitement.

Only one person, however, noticed the seriousness of the situation.

As Zero cocked the weapon and was ready to defy all human reason, he felt a pair of hands grip his wrist and pull it away from the direction of the cosplayers. He looked down and saw the girl in the red dress he tried to apologize to. There was warning in her once teary eyes, and that warning was pointed at his gun.

"Don't even _think_ about it. One, he's not even a _vampire_. Two, there are a bunch of people around that _will _see you and they _will_ make sure you are in _major _trouble. And three, if you want to make a good impression, don't do _anything _rash."

Zero found he had a new respect for this stranger. Taking her advice, he unset the round and left the Bloody Rose out so the mob would have fun with the opportunity to take pictures of his prized weapon while he talked to the girl who did make a very good point about the cosplayer and getting in trouble.

"What's your name?" he asked, peering into her eyes of bright brown.

"Vanessa. Just call me Vanessa."

"Well, Vanessa, you know who I am, so it takes away from any sort of formality."

It was at this point that he noticed her standoffishness towards him. This made him a little un-comfortable and he looked at her questioningly. "What's wrong?"

She was hesitant in her answer. "I didn't think you were going to be that…controlled. By now you could have stomped off and tried to find a way to get away from everyone. If not for me, you would have been in a load of trouble."

"For what?" This girl tested his patience!

"Uh, for starters, you could have gotten arrested for having a loaded weapon in a place like this. Another is that this is new country for you, literally. This is the United Sates, Zero. Not Japan, not anywhere near the Academy or the Soiree. Something happened that caused you to be brought here, and not just away from your life, but from the world of the creator's mind. Zero, you were originally a character, but now you are a living, breathing being."

He felt the blood in his veins run cold as he heard this. The United States? He was originally a character from someone's mind? That couldn't be. Could it?

~~ How is it so far? Getting antsy for more? That's good, I suppose. I'm working diligently for you all to see how Zero fares with being understated like that. Next chapter coming soon…I just have to write it!


	3. Chapter Two

-§-Chapter Two-§-

"Is it true what you are saying? I'm not...real?"

"You are very much real right now. Flesh and blood. It's just that you are...made up. Let's not talk about it here. People would question this if they heard anything I just said."

Vanessa gripped his wrist and began to pull him away from the crowds around them and stepped onto one of the escalators that rode to the fourth floor. They stepped off and she led him to one that went one more floor higher before he saw that there were several elevators waiting on floor five. Before he could open his mouth to ask her any sort of question, she stopped them in front of one of the elevators. There were a few more people waiting at the elevator, waiting to get into the device. Zero recognized a few of them as ones who had not heard of a shower. He swallowed hard to distract from their stench.

When the elevator finally opened, Zero saw there were so many bodies in the small space that it made him physically back away from the situation. Vanessa's hand, however, was still clenching his wrist and she pulled him into the space, the same small bit also being occupied by the cosplayers without hygiene. Zero gnashed his teeth in self-control and waited as Vanessa pressed the button for floor thirty-six. Random sets of numbers were pressed as well and the elevator heaved as it ascended high above the ground.

Conversations erupted as people tried to talk to each other about the event they were attending. From what Zero caught, apparently one of the "panels" some were attending was being rescheduled due to someone's health. This conversation, he noticed, seemed to captivate the girl he was with, her attention focused on the discussion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fairly stocky character give a rather curious leer at the girl Vanessa. Glaring at the man, Zero subtly stepped in between the view of the man and Vanessa, a sign telling the man that he was not welcome to look at her that way. The man narrowed his eyes a moment before turning his attention onto a rather busty girl who flaunted her figure with a small top and shorts barely long enough to be decent in public.

After letting so many of the passengers off at various floors, it was just a few people left on the elevator. Zero actually felt relieved when some of the dirty beings departed onto floor twenty-three. He still kept an eye on the shady character that was looking at Vanessa as they stepped off the elevator at floor thirty-six. As the doors closed, the man looked at Zero and flipped him off. Zero's only rebuff was one he knew really wasn't going to work, but tried anyway; he opened his jacket to reveal the Bloody Rose. The doors closed as the man's eyes got large with astonishment and Zero felt himself smile.

Vanessa pulled a hotel key the size of a credit card from her bag and used it to gain access to the hotel room. The door opened and she pulled Zero in behind her, slightly hesitant for what she might find. The room was empty, to her relief, and she closed the door when they were both in. Zero just stood there as Vanessa went to her bag on the floor next to the pull-out couch with a sleeping bag rolled up waiting to be used. She threw her pillow onto the floor away from Zero, who had barely enough time to see anything on the pillowcase. As she rearranged things in the room, Zero noticed that there was enough baggage in the room to suggest she was not alone; at least two other people were using the room as well.

She shifted her sleeping bag over to one side of the pull-out couch and offered Zero a seat. He declined at first, but when she began to pull things out of her bag, he decided to take a moment and accept her generosity. As he sat, he kept looking at her bare shoulders and a surprising feeling wrenched deep in the pit of his stomach and he shuffled out of his jacket.

Vanessa was startled when she felt something heavy and warm fall onto her and she noticed that it was his warm jacket that had been tossed onto her. She looked up at him in confusion, shaking the jacket from her shoulders.

"Please put it on. It's a little off-setting when I have to see you looking so…indecent."

Slowly, Vanessa pushed her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and felt the warmth from the previous wearer still lingering in the fabric. She clenched her jaw and pushed the thought from her mind, replacing it with thoughts on ideas of how to go on with this situation. In her bag was the pass she had just gotten from the pre-register line and had been on her way to pay for her ticket to the charity dance being held at the convention. Looking down at herself, she understood why he had this reaction; she was not as dressed as she normally would during a convention, making it a little off-putting in her appearance. It was already too late to go down to the admission stand and buy a pass for him.

She knew now that she was going to have to miss the charity ball. Yes, it was for a good cause, but this was more important than hanging with her friends and having a good time.

Knowing this, she pulled her pass and her cell phone from her bag and wrote a text message to one of her friends at the convention with her:

'_srry I could not make it to the dance w/ u guys. not feelin good. hope u have fun!'_

She sent the message and looked up to see Zero looking puzzled at her. Vanessa looked down at her phone and back at Zero, hinting his confusion at her device. She closed the phone and set it in her lap, waiting for the response from Cassidy, the receiver of the message. A variety of replies flashed in her thoughts, all either upset or overly-exaggerated thankfulness.

"What is that?" Zero asked, his confusion only expressed through his voice.

"My phone," Vanessa hesitated, unsure of his question.

"Oh. We don't use those at the Academy. I've rarely seen one wherever I go. It looks a lot more…_advanced_…than I remember."

"Well, this _is_ America in a technical day and age. You're bound to see things here you wouldn't back home."

"Yes," he mused, thinking about the dirty cosplayers and busy place of the convention.

"You might not want to include this place in things you wouldn't see back home," she broke into his thoughts. "This is _very_ rare in this area; it only happens once a year. The same goes for other places."

Vanessa's phone began to chime to the tune of the Italian version of _Maru Kaite Chikyuu_, the theme song from Hetalia: Axis Powers. Zero just looked at her as she flipped open her phone and pushed buttons. He saw her face remain calm as she sucked in a breath and pushed more buttons and flipped the phone closed. She set it in her lap again and looked at him looking at her.

"They wanted to skip out on me, but I told them to go on ahead."

"I see," he nodded, his voice cold. He did not care about that at all.

Vanessa shrugged. "All the same. So I figure you want to know why you're here," she leaned back onto her hands, looking at Zero with her brown eyes glowing in anticipation.

This got his attention and remembered that was why he allowed her to bring him up to her room. Of course he wanted to know why that at the moment he was going to see _her_ again, he was sent off to a strange place where people are coarse and girls dressed scantily. Was there a reason he was transported here? To meet Vanessa? Or was it because of his being a Hunter?

"To tell you the truth, Zero, I really wish I had the answer to your question. The thing is, I don't know! I wish I did. I wonder if it has anything to do with you being at the soiree and seeing Yuki again."

At that, he started. "Don't use her name like that!" he shouted, angry at the girl for using _her_ name in that manner.

Then again, could Vanessa have been right?

~~Sorry I haven't been able to present to you all another chapter in this fiction! Now that it is here, I would appreciate any and all reviews. Also, there is a poll on my page that I ask you all to look at. It involves this story and I only ask that you maybe leave a vote to help me decide on my next plan of action. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this fiction!


	4. Chapter Three

-§-Chapter Three-§-

"So you're telling me that you have no idea why I'm here?"

"Mhm."

"And also that it_ may _have something to do with seeing _her _for the first time in a year?"

"Mhm."

Zero stared at her in utter disbelief. He was still reeling from the shock of being 'transported' to this strange place. The reality of the situation began to dawn on him; since coming to this place, this girl has both frustrated and helped him. She made him pull from his very soul the reactions for _her_, yet he found that she had a peculiar charm to her that would force him into resolve. Knowing this was unlike him, he desperately pushed away any suspicion of danger to his feelings for _her_.

"Why would anyone want to do that? I've done nothing wrong!"

"You haven't, Zero. No one is going to believe you where you're from. I told you, you are from a published work. People here in my world know your life through the mind of the creator—"

"STOP! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! I have to find a way back to the soiree. If I don't…"

His voice trailed to silence as he looked at Vanessa. She was frightened; he could tell from the terror in her eyes and her quiet demeanor that he startled her and he, for a reason beyond his control, began to regret it.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just really…confused. That's all."

Vanessa gulped meekly and nodded her head. "It's okay, Zero. I would be frustrated if I were in your position right now."

Zero stood and began pacing about the small room. As he did so, Vanessa had a very hard time trying not to look at the man in front of her. In the years she had spent reading the manga about his life, she had never thought of him as so…good looking. He was her favorite character because of his hair and the tattoo and his Bloody rose, but there was more to it. There was an air about him of any and all seriousness. Even in his angry pacing, Vanessa could understand his frustration and self-assurance. She felt her cheeks flush as she noticed his arms under the thin white shirt beneath the vest of black.

"This is ridiculous! How are we ever going to find out how and who did this to me? I mean, this is just temporary, right?"

He looked down at her and instantly had to turn away his eyes. The way she sat, Vanessa looked like _her_ a great deal. The brown hair, the way she thought, the way she looked like she belonged in the colors of the day class. It seemed too similar for him to wrap his head around and tried to dismiss it. This girl could be nothing like _her_ at all. Yet there was that one similarity…

"…to begin with."

Zero had only heard those last few words. "Come again?"

Vanessa looked at him differently this time, like a mix between concern and confusion. "I said that we have to think about who didn't like you to begin with."

He gave a curt nod. "I didn't have many 'enemies,' but there were those who disliked me, and those I disliked as well. There may be several people who have a grudge against me that I had no idea that they did."

"I agree. Based on what I know, there is only one person who would have any hatred toward you, but why would—"

The doorknob to the room twisted and the door burst open. In piled two girls who laughed at something unbeknownst to the two in the room. The first girl was tall with long black hair that was cut just below her shoulders. She wore a suit, since she was not a girl to wear dresses often, and her green eyes shined with excitement. The girl behind her, with short, light-brown hair permed nicely in tight waves, strode in behind the other girl, a long gown of black lace hugging her and giving her a look of pure elegance. Both girls wore a mask of silver with various enhancements decorating the mask.

As soon as the girls looked and saw Zero, they instantly stopped their laughing. The only thing that made any noise was the closing of the door.

"Vanessa, what's going on?"

"Dude, this looks bad."

"Guys, this is a bit awkward—"

"Uh, yeah," the girl in the suit, whose name was Ellie, looked at her friend wide-eyed.

"Vanessa, what were you thinking? Is this why you weren't coming to the charity ball with us?" the girl who spoke, the lass dressed in black lace, was named Sadie, and she looked a bit saddened.

"No. just let me explain—"

"I'm sorry to be an inconvenience to you, but I'm in a bit of a jam here," Zero spoke up, looking at each one of the new girls.

"No duh," Ellie blurted out, her self-restraint clearly not controlling her.

"Just sit down. This is going to get a bit weird," Vanessa was having a hard time getting control and Zero clenched his fist in restraint in helping her.

Both of the new arrivals sat on the corner of one of the beds and looked at Vanessa, who was taking a deep breath to collect her thoughts. Breathing in a deep sigh, she clasped her hands at her waist and looked her friends in the eye.

"By now, you may have figured out that this here is Zero. You probably think he's a great cosplayer, but this is worse than that. Major serious."

Out of nowhere, Vanessa grabbed a few of his hairs and yanked forcefully. Zero growled in pain as the sting of the hair being ripped from his scalp startled him. With these hairs, Vanessa pushed them in front of the other girls' faces and made them look at them. There was not a single hint that there had been any dying of the hair and this seemed to bring the shock to their eyes.

"Any idea what that could mean?"

A moment of silence, then, "He's legit? Dude, that's freakin' impossible!"

"Thank you, Ellie," Zero heard Vanessa whisper under her breath.

"So…that means…what? Why is he in our room?" Sadie was getting concerned.

"It just so happens that she kind of got me out of trouble," Zero stepped up. These two were really trying his patience. Almost like the girls trying to get close to the night class.

"Oh. And why were you in trouble—"

"Okay, I think you get it. I know why you guys are this way and, just to make you happy, we will go to the charity ball. I'll pay for him, so it will be okay."

The faces of the other girls brightened and they leaped off the bed in excitement. They nearly tripped over one another to get to the door.

"You coming?" Ellie called out, playfully pushing Sadie out of her way.

"Yeah, yeah," Vanessa grabbed her small bag and followed the girls.

As she began to shrug out of the loaned jacket, she felt resistance behind her. Turning her head, she realized that Zero was trying to slip the jacket back onto her shoulders. She obeyed, but only because her shoulders had gotten used to the warmth from the bulk of the fabric. Plus it was almost a request from him to have her keep the jacket on.

"To keep you decent," he leaned in and spoke quietly into her ear.

A weird feeling pitted in her stomach. "Okay. Thank you. It's very…kind of you."

"It might be a better option just for me to look like I'm escorting you, since we can't split up and leave you looking lost and indecent."

"It's fine," she told him, opening the door for him. A little voice her head kept giving her different types of messages. The ones she focused on were the ponderous ones. '_Oh dang. I've finally met the coolest guy EVER! I wonder if it is fate that allowed this phenomenon to occur for me to meet the most awesome character in manga in the world._' Then there was '_Something isn't right. Why would he be transported here. Why would it be at the soiree? Was there a connection between him being there and the reuniting of him and Yuki for the first time after a full year?_'

"I don't think your friends like me at all," Zero interrupted her thoughts. By now they had boarded a less-crowded elevator and were on their way down.

"Ha! You have no idea."

~~Sorry it took me forever to write this. I had been busy with things because of school and I have a billion things on my mind with other fanfics and even more of my own work. I promise to try and update as soon as I can in the next two weeks or so. I know if there isn't an update by the 20th, the update will be early next month. Srry for the schedule, but its gonna be hectic for me the next month or so.

So how is this so far? Hopefully I get more into the plot within the next few chapters. I literally sat at the computer for five hours to try and write this. Again, for those of you who have not seen my profile, there is a Vampire Knight poll that I would ask that you kindly look at. Vote if you want, but I was just throwing out an option. It gives you a chance in helping decide what happens in the story—or another way to look at it is you essentially writing the story. There is always room for reviews, so keep em coming if that's the plan for you.

Until next time!


	5. Chapter Four

-§-Chapter Four-§-

The elegant music pounded with the rhythms of swing and tango. Bodies entwined in synchronization of the music, some unsteady while others looked professional. The attire within the ball was a combination of formal cosplays and wedding-like gowns. Men wore tuxes and even military uniforms while the ladies wore a range of garb from short summer dresses to princess-like gowns and tiaras. Many of the attendees wore a mask to conceal their identity from their partner.

As soon as Zero entered he almost regretted it. There were a lot of people and the combination of dancing and the style of music made his stomach turn. He did not like formal events; or any type of event at that. He was only here because he felt he was indebted to Vanessa for helping him out of his situation. Zero felt he needed to be here because he felt he would have to help her in a situation.

'_Like_ her,' he thought to himself.

The thought pained him as the flash of memory replayed in his mind. The bright light, the stopping of time, even the glance of _her_ eyes. All of it seemed now to haunt him as he walked through every minute in this strange world.

The music in the background changed from ballroom style to upbeat and dance-y. Everyone in the room gave a loud cheer and mobbed to the middle of the dance floor. Zero noticed Vanessa and her friends joining the crowd and saw a smile spread on her face. She was having fun and it was clear to him. As he watched her smile, it reminded him of _her_ in the way that it pained him to think about.

"_It's about to get funky!_

_ To the left…_

_ Take it back now, y'all._

_ One hop this time…_"

The mob in the middle followed the lyrics, obeying the commands and jumped and sliding across the dance floor. Smiles were all over the place on people as they danced with their friends and would accidentally go the wrong way and collide with some random dancer. Zero noticed Vanessa and the others flawlessly obeying the commands, laughing at the number of times they would jump or the "Charlie Brown" as they quoted it. By the way she smiled, Zero almost wanted now to go see what it was like to have a fun evening.

"Um, excuse me?"

Zero turned his head to see a girl about his age looking like she was about to squeal like the ones did over the Night class. He bit his tongue and waited for the girl to speak.

"I'm sorry, but I noticed you were by yourself. May I have one dance? I know it goes against your character, but would it be okay?"

What was he to say? He did not want to dance with a complete stranger. He would not even dance with someone he knew well…except for _her_, but she was always dancing with that Kaname Kuran and he unconsciously clenched his teeth at the thought.

He thought of the answer, though it was a cruel one. "I'm sorry. I am with someone tonight and I opted out of this dance. I'm sure you understand."

A quick nod from the girl. She seemed almost okay with it, unlike some of the girls he knew back at the Academy. "I understand. There aren't many other guys who are as devoted as you to their partner. I accept this answer. Good night."

She swept away in her long gown and went around the mob of people on the dance floor. Zero felt a little bad for her, that was true, but his answer surprised him more. He had not thought of it to be the one he would use, but it blurted out anyway. A weird feeling pitted itself in his stomach as he watched Vanessa dancing to the end of the song.

The song soon ended and Vanessa and her friends gave each other high fives. They were laughing and having a good time when a tap on Vanessa's shoulder directed her attention to a man just slightly older than herself. He was almost the very definition of nerd and it was a little funny to her.

"May I cut in?" he asked her, bowing deeply.

Why not? "Of course. One dance may be sufficient," she smiled, letting the man take her hand and leading her a few feet away.

They started dancing to the waltz, their hands in position at the shoulder and the hip, like proper dancing. Vanessa was a little shaky because she was inexperienced in this elegant dance and her partner was obliged to help her along the way. It was about a minute later when either of them spoke.

"My name is Vanessa, by the way," she said, hoping to break the ice-cold awkwardness that had formed between them.

"James. You look rather nice tonight, by the way."

Heat flushed her cheeks. "Thank you. You look rather nice as well. So do you come to conventions often?"

She just then noticed that he had to lift his eyes from her neck to answer her. "Yeah, when I can. I'm in the middle of college and needed a break. How about you?"

Her answer was a little hesitant. "When I can. With my job and stuff, I don't have a lot of time off," she lied. She was starting to feel this guy was a little shady.

There was silence between them again and it lasted until the end of the song. The music died away into the next song, which was another slower waltz style, and her partner looked deep into Vanessa's eyes.

"Another dance?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Um—"

Before she could answer, she suddenly saw his face quickly draw very near. Vanessa froze and her hand was ready to strike when his face stopped dead. She was now frozen in fear and soon noticed her breath bouncing back to her as though…

As though Zero had put his hand in front of the other man's face and stopped the defilement.

With eyes full of malice, the man James was pushed back by Zero and glared at the two. Then he righted himself and turned to leave. He paused, then turned back, looking directly at Zero.

"Keep your girl on a damn leash then, bad boy. She could have wound up with some other guy had you not been the hero."

With that, he took off, stomping away from the two. Still in shock, Vanessa slowly turned to look at Zero, whose eyes were as angry as ever. She did not know what to say to him. He had just saved her from an attack and all she could do was look at him in thanks.

"Zero—"

He turned to her now. His eyes were still full of anger and malice. "Are you crazy? Do you realize what he could have done? He was a motivated monster! You could have been hurt—"

"Look who's talking."

As soon as she said it, she covered her mouth with both her hands and her eyes lit up in apology. Her eyes began to wet as she thought over what she just said. Zero could only look at her in confusion at first, then instantly hurt and soon it was his malice-stricken glare that made all of the girls fear him.

"Zero…I—"

"It's the truth. You could see it. You know it. I'm sorry. Though I am still in your debt—"

"I'm sorry, okay? Just let it go. I'll try to and we'll be done with it. Let's just have fun, okay? I know there will be another upbeat dance soon…"

Her voice trailed as the Cupid Shuffle blasted over the speakers. Her smiled brightened her face and she gripped Zero's hand and pulled him over to where her friends were. Zero tried to pull away, but by now they were near the end of the mob and he set himself in the direction everyone else was facing.

He was clueless as the music began and the people around him began moving around. Going one way only led him into running into someone else and he felt like an idiot. He backed up a little and watched Vanessa and her friends as they moved to the left and kicked their feet every so often. Eventually Vanessa looked around and saw Zero looking confused and ready to give up and leave. Knowing this was the only way, she grabbed his hand and stood close to him.

"_To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right _

_To the left, to the left, to the left, to the left_

_ Now kick, now kick, now kick, now kick_

_ Now walk it by yourself, now walk it by yourself…"_

Zero followed the steps as she did and found the dance both monotonous and interesting. It was easy to learn and simple enough to hold as a dance. He turned with the rest of the mob and even saw Vanessa adding in hand gestures to the music.

It was then he felt his muscles twitch into the form of a grin.

He noticed Vanessa had seen the grin. Instantly he tried to cover it up but she gave a small smile; a smile of encouragement. The same type of smile _she_ would give when they were talking about something important or just for fun. It was so similar that it made his stomach turn.

Soon the dance was nearly over and the girls were starting to get tired. He could see it in their faces; the exhaustion and fatigue in their eyes, the lids falling low to their cheeks. Vanessa yawned and Zero found he was also overwhelmed with fatigue. The whole time-travelling thing or whatever it was made him tired.

They left as a group just before midnight and made it onto a slightly crowded elevator. The elevator opened and one of the floors began passing plates of cake onto the elevator. Everyone took some and right before the door closed a handful of forks were handed to a guy by the door. The doors shut and the elevator took off again. It stopped at every floor—because it had to—and the guy with the forks began tossing one out on every floor.

"We don't need these," he remarked, nearly missing a group of people on one floor.

By the time they reached their floor, Vanessa and her friends were so tired they began to stumble to their room. The four of them entered the room and Sadie and Ellie moved to the bathroom to change. Vanessa and Zero sat on the beds, looking exhausted. It took Vanessa a while to realize that Zero was still there and she opened her tired eyes in confusion.

"Crap! Where to put you? You can't _possibly_ sleep on the couch with me—"

"I'll just take the floor. A couple of those couch cushions that you don't need will be fine enough. I can sleep in my clothes so it won't be a hassle."

Vanessa was almost too tired to complain. "I'll get you a blanket to cover with. I just wish…"

Her voice trailed as she yawned and began to close her tired eyes. Zero watched as she began to drift to sleep and lightly put his hand on her forehead to keep her awake. It was as much as he would do since he was only a visitor to this world. He would have to leave soon, then he would see _her_ again. Then again, why did the thought of leaving twist his heart a little?

The two girls in the bathroom changed and now strutted around the room in their pajamas. Sadie walked cautiously over to where Vanessa lay and woke her up, telling her to change. Vanessa grabbed up her clothes and went straight for the bathroom. With nothing else to do, Zero began getting his make-shift bed ready for himself and was surprised to see Sadie hand him a pillow to use. He thanked her and lay his head down to start sleeping.

Right before he became unconscious, he felt a heavy thud on his face and was startled to see a mass of clothing in front of his eyes. Removing them, he saw Vanessa, now in pajamas and glasses, point to the clothes.

"I had brought extra things. Your clothes might be uncomfortable. Just use them and go to sleep."

She curled herself into a ball and rolled over, too tired to turn off the lights around her. Zero changed in the bathroom and turned off the lights in the room. Before he closed his eyes, he looked at Vanessa one last time.

He now knew he was deeper in debt to her, and he did not mind it at all.

~~ Agh! I'm so sorry it took me forever to write this! Almost done with the convention part of the story. I promise you that.

As I had just come back from a recent convention, it was only fair to write about some of the experiences. The dancing one was from this last convention, though not entirely that exact on the events, and the cake in the elevator was from a previous convention. I tend to write a lot about my experiences in my stories and to say that the convention atmosphere is familiar; I could let those of you who have never been get to see some of the events that go on. Just this last convention I sat through TWO Vic Mignogna panels, and boy were they awesome!

So now that there is another chapter, I also now must write another chapter for my other fanfic and hopefully attempt my own work on fictionpress. I've been busy what with graduation and the convention and scheduling for college classes. I have to find some of the randomest time to write more for you all.

Thank you to all who have waited ever so patiently to read an update. I apologize for my life getting in the way of my writing and I promise you another chapter here soon…if soon can mean a couple of weeks.

Much love and until next time!


	6. Chapter Five

Hello fans! I am very very very very (I could go on with how very) sorry I am that those of you who have anticipated this new chapter have almost forgotten about this story. I have been very busy lately and I must say that eleven months is a long time to go without updating. My bad! XP Though I have to throw out a giant thank you to **SukiKyt** for reviewing this story and making me realize that I had thrown this aside for FAR too long. It took me a while to remember what I wanted to do. Well, with great honor, I bring you the newest update to this rather interesting fiction!

-§-Chapter Five-§-

Zero woke to see the girls already dressed for the day and eating food. He sat up and squinted the sleep from his eyes as Sadie shoved a chunk of PopTart into her mouth. The three girls were gathered on one of the beds with a small pile of food in front of them, eating and having a hushed discussion just low enough to where Zero could barely understand what they were discussing.

"What are we gonna do about it? This is getting awkward, and fast, so we have to figure out what to do about it."

"Say 'do about it' one more time and I will shove this delicious cookie down your throat," Ellie glared comically at Vanessa, who immediately stuck out her tongue and made a small humming noise.

Zero just sat there and watched the girls make fun of each other until Sadie noticed his distant expression and tapped Vanessa on the leg. Pointing in his direction, Sadie let Vanessa know that their guest was awake and in need of the rules and plans.

"Morning," Vanessa mumbled to him.

"Same," was all he could answer.

There was silence before Ellie groaned and looked at Zero. "You coming with us or goin' off on your own? We have plans and you can tag along if you want."

Vanessa snapped her head around and looked at Ellie with a confused look on her face. "Seriously? You are _really_ gonna make him walk around all by himself? Dude, he pulled his gun out on a cosplayer! We shouldn't let him run around by himself." Then looking at him, she frowned a little. "Sorry."

He merely shrugged his shoulders at the comment. This might be a good thing. He might get to think about how he ended up here in the first place. Maybe he could just hang out in the room while they were gone and have some time to think. That and hopefully stay away from those "cosplayers" so another incident like the day before would be avoided.

If he were to be by himself, he wouldn't have people watching him as he beat himself up over seeing _her_ again after so long.

"What do you think, Zero?"

He shook his head as the question pulled him from his thoughts. "What do I think about what?" he asked, a little startled and confused.

"About hittin' the con with us? You'll be able to get out and about and meet other people who look like you. It'll be great," Ellie's tone was not fully supportive; it rather hinted that it would get him away from them.

"I personally would _avoid_ those people," Sadie looked at Ellie, knowing the full intent behind the comment.

He was silent as the two had a glaring match that lasted all but two minutes before they gave up and began eating again. Zero then looked at Vanessa, who gingerly ate a cookie and looked lost in a distant thought. She reminded him of himself at times: secluded, thoughtful, able to read the atmosphere. He could almost tell that she was not very sought-after in school and she thought very hard about everything she did.

Almost like _her_.

"So I think you should come with us today, Zero," Vanessa tried to convince him. See some of the other things there are to offer at an anime convention. There are film showings and panels and stuff to buy—"

"Sounds like money I don't have," Zero interrupted, going with that excuse to stay in the room all day.

"You don't _have_ to buy anything if you don't want. We have food in the room here and all the panels are just walk in and sit. There _is_ one panel you may like to go to—"

"Which I hope happens cuz of what's been going around."

Zero was a little startled. "What's going around? Like a disease?"

Vanessa shook her head. "No. Just one of the voice actors is a little sick so they had to move panels around for him."

"Oh. Well, I do not mean to impose on the plans you all had, but I could just stay in the room all day and not be a bother."

"Nah, come on! It will be fun out there. Besides, one time I had to sit inside a water park and do nothing for an hour and a half before I got to talk to someone. Then they went off and left me for another hour by myself until we left."

By now Sadie was finished with breakfast and went to get her things together for the afternoon. "It's not my fault you started your—"

"O-kay," Zero broke in, not wanting to know what the conversation was about. "Well, I guess I will go with you. The thing is, though, I have nothing to wear. How are we going to go about that?"

Everyone was silent while he looked expectantly at them. Finally Ellie jabbed Vanessa in the arm and gave her a look that meant that Vanessa was more than prepared. Vanessa sighed and went to her bag. She then pulled out a black heap that looked very familiar to Zero. He was confused for a moment, then his eyes lit up as Vanessa unfolded the heap to reveal a Day Class uniform so similar to his very own that it was frightening to him.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, shocked to his core.

"Um…I bought it? This is called a cosplay. It's basically a costume that someone wears when they want to become their favorite character from a fictional work, like manga or books or movies."

"And you have a Day Class uniform because…?"

"Well…"

Zero glanced into her luggage and saw a wig of silver very similar to his own hair. _No way_. _You have_ got _to be kidding me_!

"You wanted to dress up like _me_? Why on Earth would you do such a thing?"

"We ask her that all the time," Sadie gloated with sarcasm.

Zero just stared at Vanessa, a look of confusion clearly evident. "Really, what _compelled_ you to want to be me? Do you know what kind of life I have lived—"

"If you are asking me why I chose to be you, it was because I rather though your character was fun. Dude, you have a tattoo and a _gun_! Though the tattoo is for other reasons, still! I just think your character was really cool and stuff…" Vanessa trailed off, her cheeks turning red.

A moment of thought from Zero. "Thank you. That was thoughtful."

Vanessa looked at him, shock in her eyes. He instantly got uneasy as she looked at him in speculation. Shaking her head, she thrust the bundle of clothing at him and told him to change. He went to the bathroom and stood there a moment, thinking about the situation.

_A girl has a Day Class uniform in her bag and she wants to be like me? Like I'm some character from a_ book _she read! There is no way that this is real, yet I just woke up from sleep and I'm still here at this…convention. What did I do wrong to deserve ending up in the care of this girl…she reminds me so much of_ her…

He threw the bundle down in anger and took hold of the sink, staring into the mirror above the basin. His violet eyes were full of rage and he could see a bead of sweat above his eyebrow. _What_ is _this? What did I do wrong to have been put here?_ _And of all places, why this convention place?_

"Zero" Vanessa tapped the door and quietly called his name. "Are you just going to change, or are you going to clean up a little?"

Clenching his jaw, he composed himself before answering, though he continued to glare at the mirror. "I'll shower. Don't be afraid to just leave me here."

"You agreed to go with us. If you still want to go, I'll wait here with you. No point in having you wander around by yourself."

"Yeah, Vanessa," Sadie retorted, "you wouldn't want the love of your life getting hauled out by security."

"You do realize that he has a loaded weapon. That gives him liberty to shoot Kaname if he wants," Vanessa snarled, her voice clearly evident of irritation. The comment about him shooting Kaname Kuran actually put a small smile on his lips. Still looking at himself in the mirror, he saw the grin and instantly removed it, cursing himself to be so easily amused.

One very short shower later, he had dressed and opened the door to see Vanessa lying on one of the beds, a device in her hand and headphones in her ears. She wore a pair of jeans and a black shirt with some strange symbols on it. Her hair, not as well done as last night, fell against the pillows and if she had not been scrolling her finger across the screen of the device he would have thought her asleep. Finding his shoes, he seated himself on the corner of a bed…but did not realize it was the bed she was on until he heard her gasp and the bed shook with her jolt.

"Sorry," he grumbled, forcing his shoes on.

"No big deal. Just let me know when you're ready. Vic's panel is in a few hours and I want to hit the Dealer's room before the panel so I have something for him to sigh…unless the cds are there—"

"Done," he said, standing up.

Vanessa tumbled from the bed and put the device on the nightstand. She slipped on her shoes and they headed for the door. Slinging the bag she had in her hand over her shoulder, she opened the door and walked out, waiting for Zero to follow. Out of the room now, they went to the elevator and waited for the doors to open, where they squeezed into an elevator and proceeded to try and have a hassle-free convention.

~~Again, thank you all for supporting this story. The chapter was supposed to end differently, but oh well. I'll make up for it later. Um…this is really REALLY awkward to write now because the characters of Sadie and Ellie are based on former friends of mine. I'll still keep them throughout the story…but if Vanessa gets super angry at them and they get out of character…my bad. I still have con memories and stuff with them, but it gets weird when I have to write about them. Oh, and the little bit about the water park up in the chapter…legit. I literally sat in a waterpark in jeans and shoes (Converse and socks, mind you, and this is a giant room with water and humidity and heat) and had N.O.T.H.I.N.G. to do. I watched a hot Asian lifeguard, but he moved after a while and I got sad… Anyway, back to the story. Thank you all very much for sticking with me and I have time here in the next few months so I will have a lot more for you to read here as soon as college lets me not be stressed by the amount of Composition homework. Yay finals!

Until next time my lovelies! 3


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